Violence Against Women Act passes the Senate — now on to the House

U.S. senators passed the federal Violence Against Women Act Tuesday by 78 to 22 votes, with 23 Republicans joining 53 Democrats and two independents to push through passage. It now moves on to the House, where House Republicans have voiced the same concerns with the legislation as Senate Republicans did last week and earlier this week, primarily that Native American tribal authorities would be able to prosecute non-Native Americans for domestic violence crimes. The Democratic-led Senate also added protections for gays, lesbians and immigrants, which further antagonized the Republicans.

The bill would provide $650 million over five years to state and local governments for domestic violence programs, including legal aid and transitional housing for victims.

On Monday, the California Senate passed a resolution authored by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, that urged Congress to pass the Violence Against Women Act.

The action in Washington now moves to the House, where Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., will lead the efforts to craft the House bill. The bill would reauthorize legislation first passed in 1994, but which Congress failed to reauthorize when it expired in 2011. The legislation failed in the 112th Congress when House Republicans refused to allow the legislation come to the floor for a vote.